Heavy rain saves England (again!)
An injury ravaged England squad have been saved by the weather for the second time on their tour of South Africa. In their first Twenty20 game at the Wanderers heavy rain handed the tourists a one run win under D/L method, when South Africa were well placed for a victory. Now, the first ODI of the tour, also at the Wanderers has been called off without a ball even being bowled.
England would have struggled in this match with Stuart Broad and Graeme Swann definitely out with Paul Collingwood, Alastair Cook, James Anderson and Graham Onions all doubtful. With your four of your best bowlers out any team would struggle against any other nations, let alone South Africa. This washout has also meant Collingwood, if fit, misses out on being England’s most capped One Day player while James Tredwell will have to wait until Sunday to make his debut.
Not many cricket fans may know a lot about Tredwell, who was a surprise call up seeing as Monty Panesar is out in South Africa playing provincial cricket at the moment. However, it was no surprise to me as I have seen him spinning Kent to victory after victory to capture the Division Two Championship this season. Tredwell took 69 wickets in the County Championship last year at an average of just 26, while also averaging over 30 with the bat. A good all rounder to have while Adil Rashid’s form is a bit hit and miss of late.
Andrew Strauss has been quoted saying it is Tredwell’s ability to spin the ball away from the left hander which has seen him called up to the England squad, with South Africa’s batting line-up seemingly very left hander heavy. If you play on Sunday Tredders, good luck to you, the whole of Kent (and England) are behind you!
